Method and apparatus for atm-based cross-selling of products and services

ABSTRACT

A method of and apparatus for automatically displaying an advertisement or promotional material to a user of an automated teller machine or point of purchase terminal. The method includes accessing debit data and credit bureau data for the applicant, accessing account information for the applicant, generating a score for the applicant based on the data and the account information and determining what advertisements or promotional offers to display on the ATM or POP terminal. The apparatus is a system, including both hardware and software components for effecting the method.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of, and claimspriority to U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 09/653,595,entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EVALUATING A FINANCIAL ACCOUNTAPPLICANT, filed on Aug. 31, 2000, which application claims the benefitunder 35 U.S.C. § 119 of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/168,272,entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR USE IN ENTERING FINANCIAL DATA INTO ANELECTRONIC DEVICE, filed on Dec. 1, 1999; U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/168,276, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AN ELECTRONIC CHECKPAYMENT SYSTEM, filed on Dec. 1, 1999; U.S. Provisional Application No.60/168,273, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING ONLINE FINANCIALACCOUNT SERVICES, filed on Dec. 1, 1999; and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/213,367, entitled SOFTWARE PROGRAM, filed on Jun. 23,2000, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention relates to a system for evaluating applicants forfinancial accounts and particularly, to a method and apparatus forautomatically analyzing the applicants' credit bureau data, financialaccount information and demographic data to evaluate the financialaccount applicants.

[0003] Known methods of evaluating financial account applicants do nottake advantage of technological tools. In particular, when a financialinstitution receives from a potential customer an application foropening a financial account, a financial institution employee must firstverify the applicant's identity, then call or contact electronically acredit reporting bureau to get credit rating information for theapplicant, and then call or contact electronically an accountverification system to get information relating to present and pastfinancial institution accounts held in the name of the applicant. Basedon this information, the employee must then make an independent decisionwhether the financial institution will open the account for theapplicant and what kind of products or services to offer the applicant.

[0004] The lack of a centralized method and apparatus for conductingcredit bureau and account information investigations as well asdetermining whether to offer the applicant the product or service inquestion creates a great deal of inconsistency within the financialinstitution in this decision making process. For example, differentemployees of the financial institution may evaluate the credit bureaudata and account information differently. This could result in thefinancial institution accepting more risk than it actually deemsdesirable, or alternatively, turning away customers needlessly.Moreover, even if the applicant is accepted, the financial institutionemployee may not be aware of other products or services that thefinancial institution would like to offer to the customer, or may simplyneglect to offer such products or services.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Accordingly, the invention provides a method and apparatus forautomatically evaluating a financial account applicant. The apparatusthat implements the method is a network or system of computers andsoftware programs resident on the computers. The method includesverifying the identity of the applicant, accessing credit bureau datafor the applicant, accessing account information for the applicant,generating a score for the applicant based on the credit bureau data andthe account information, and determining whether to open the financialaccount based on the score. The score can be either a single compositescore, or can amount to a number of scores, for example, one for thecredit bureau data and another for the account information. In oneembodiment of the invention, the method includes using the score orscores to determine which products and services of the financialinstitution should be offered to the applicant. For example, someapplicants may only qualify for a basic checking and savings account,while other applicants may qualify for debit or credit cards for otherproducts or services of the financial institution. These products orservices are offered automatically by the system embodying the inventionbased on the score for the applicant. In another embodiment, the methodincludes the automatic retrieval and evaluation of demographic datarelevant to the applicant.

[0006] By providing an automated method and apparatus for evaluatingfinancial account applications, a financial institution-can improve theconsistency with which applications are evaluated, take advantage ofcross-selling opportunities for different products and services of thefinancial institution on a more consistent basis, reduce the amount ofemployee time required to evaluate the applications, and be assured ofhaving a consistent risk assessment for new account applications.

[0007] Other features and advantages of the invention are set forth inthe following drawings, detailed description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008]FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a network embodying theinvention.

[0009]FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the decisioning process of thenetwork shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0010] Before one embodiment of the invention is explained in fulldetail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and the arrangement ofcomponents set forth in the following description or illustrated in thefollowing drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and ofbeing practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is tobe understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is forthe purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Theuse of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof herein ismeant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereofas well as additional items.

[0011] Shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings is a network 10 for automaticallyevaluating a financial account applicant embodying the invention. Onecommercially operational example of a network embodying the invention isthe Qualifile™ brand network and service operated and offered by eFundsCorporation of Milwaukee, Wis. In general terms, the network includes agateway server 14 through which the financial institutions using thenetwork are connected to the network. All connections shown in thefigure denote two-way communication between the connected entities. Apreliminary financial account search database 18 (such as theChexSystems™ brand database offered by eFunds Corporation) is alsoconnected to the gateway server 14.

[0012] The network also includes an application server 22 connected tothe gateway server 14 and a plurality of application modules 26, 30, 34,38, 42 and 44, connected to the application server 22. While manydifferent application modules can be useful in the context of a networkfor automatically evaluating financial account applicants, theapplication modules shown in the figure include a customer set up module26, a consumer search module 30, a financial account information datastore module 34, a demographics database module 38, a credit bureauaccess module 42, and a scoring model module 44.

[0013] All of the elements of the network 10 are computer systems,including both hardware and software components, that are networked toeffect the end result of automatically analyzing financial accountinformation, credit bureau information and demographic information forthe applicant, provide a score or scores to the financial institutionthat are relevant to the applicant, evaluate whether to accept theapplication and determine whether there are cross-selling opportunitiesfor the financial institution to offer additional products and servicesto the applicant. While the network 10 is shown as including the gatewayserver 14, application server 22, preliminary search database 18 andapplication modules 26, 30, 34, 38, 42 and 44 as separate linkedplatforms, the entire network could be integrated into a singlehardware/software platform which theoretically would reduce processingtime, simplify the network architecture, and reduce cost associated withoperating the system.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the gateway server 14 provides an avenue forthe financial institution 48 to communicate with the network 10, and forthe network 10 to communicate with the financial institution 48. Whileonly the single financial institution 48 is shown in the drawing, thesystem is intended to be accessed by many client financial institutions.In the preferred embodiment, the gateway server 14 is the Online NetworkExchange (“ONE”)™ brand networking system offered and operated by eFundsCorporation of Milwaukee, Wis. However, other computer hardware andsoftware based networks can be substituted for the ONE brand computernetwork. Moreover, other portals can be created that allow directconnection of the financial institution 48 with the application server22. For example, an Internet server (not shown) could be connected tothe application server 22 so that any financial institution with accessto the Internet could access the Internet server thereby opening aportal to the application server 22 over the Internet.

[0015] The preliminary financial account information database 18 isconnected to the gateway server 14. The preliminary financial accountdatabase 18 allows a quick retrieval of financial account informationbased upon an applicant's last name, first name, social security number,and residence for the past five years. The database 18 is capable ofretrieving information such as the frequency of new financial accountapplications made by the applicant within a given time period, andinformation relating to accounts that have been closed “for cause,” suchas for checks returned for non-sufficient funds (“NSF”).

[0016] The customer setup data module 26 includes at least oneworkstation (not shown) for entering information that is specific toeach participating financial institution 48. Specifically, eachfinancial institution has a set of policy rules defined by therespective financial institution, that determine when the evaluationprocess would be terminated, e.g., if the results of the preliminarydatabase search determine that the applicant had a previous financialaccount closed “for cause.” Additionally, the customer setup data moduleworkstation is used to input and store the criteria that the financialinstitution 48 uses to evaluate whether to accept the applicant, andalso to establish what cross-selling products and services the financialinstitution 48 has and would be willing to offer to each applicant. Ofcourse, workstations can be added as necessary to accommodate increasedactivity from the financial institution. When the financial institutionaccount is established, each financial institution is provided with asecurity code that will grant the financial institution access to thenetwork. The customer setup data module 26 also includes tax rate andbilling data for each financial institution 48.

[0017] The consumer search module 30 is a database of links that “tie”together a collection of data bearing some relevance to the applicant,e.g., social security numbers that were issued at a given time or in agiven place, etc. The applicant information, i.e., last name, firstname, social security number, and place of residence for the last fiveyears is entered into the consumer search module to find the link forthe applicant, if one exists. While various databases are available thatperform this function, the database of the preferred embodiment isoffered by Acxiom Corporation of Conway, Ark. under the name Abilitec(at least a portion of which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,140,which is incorporated herein by reference). In another preferredembodiment of the invention (not shown), the network includes consumersearch software providing database links that are internal to theapplication server, as well as an external consumer search module suchas is provided by Acxiom Corporation and other companies to provideredundant linking capabilities.

[0018] The operational data store module 34 is a database that includesfinancial account and retail purchase history information such asprevious account application inquiries for the applicant, financialaccount closures, information regarding retail items purchased and paidfor, and check printing order histories. In other embodiments, theoperational data store module can be expanded to comprehensively includethe financial account information, retail purchase history, demographicinformation and credit bureau information. This would reduce the numberof modules that the application server 22 must access in effecting theevaluation.

[0019] The interactive demographics database module 38 is a database ofdemographic information such as household income, home ownership status,education level, shopping practices, such as whether the applicant shopsover the Internet, commonly purchased reading material, place ofresidence, marital status, etc. While there are many different andsuitable demographic databases that can be used with the network, anappropriate demographics database is offered by Acxiom Corporation ofConway, Ark.

[0020] The network credit bureau access module 42 is simply a softwarebased communication pathway to any one of the three major creditbureaus: Experian, Trans Union or Equifax. These credit bureaus providea credit report which is acquired by the credit bureau access module 42from the credit bureaus. The module 42 “packages” the report for theapplication server 22 and returns the repackaged report to theapplication server 22.

[0021] The scoring model module 44 includes software that takes eithersome all of the data acquired by the application server 22 and themodules 26, 30, 34, 38 and 42 connected thereto and provides a score orscores for each applicant based on an algorithm that defines a riskmodel. Preferably, the algorithm is a logistic regression algorithm thatgenerates a score for each applicant which score predicts the likelihoodthat the applicant will be an account abuser. While various risk modelsor algorithms might be appropriate for use with the network 10, thealgorithm of the preferred embodiment generates a score ranging between900 (indicating that there is little risk to the financial institution)and 100 (indicating that there is a high risk to the financialinstitution). The risk model focuses on past and present account abuse.Specifically, those applicants whose scores are in approximately thelowest twenty (20) percent of the score range (i.e., approximatelybetween 100 and 260) tend to have more unpaid NSF items on file withmajor retailers, have multiple financial account applications requested,have had at least one account closed for cause, have a less establishedor non-existent credit history, have one or more repossessed orcharged-off trade lines, have one or more open trade lines that arethirty (30) to eighty (80) days delinquent, and/or have had morederogatory items than average over the past three years. The score orscores are returned to the application server for processing andcomparison with the financial institutions' policy rules and guidelines.

[0022] In operation, the financial institution 14 contacts theadministrator (not shown) of the network 10. The administrator sets up aparticipation account for each separate financial institution 48 usingthe workstation of the customer set up module 26. Upon creating theparticipant account, the financial institution 48 is issued a securitycode and provides to the network administrator a list of policy rulesand a list of financial account application evaluation guidelines. Therules and guidelines may be selected from the list below and may bechosen in any combination.

[0023] DRIVER LICENSE INVALID FORMAT FOR STATE

[0024] DRIVER LICENSE NOT ON STATE FILE

[0025] DRIVER LICENSE DOB DOESN'T MATCH INQUIRY DOB

[0026] WARM ADDRESS FOUND

[0027] PHONE VALIDATION: INVALID PHONE #

[0028] PHONE VALIDATION: MOBILE PHONE #

[0029] PHONE VALIDATION: PAGER PHONE #

[0030] PHONE VALIDATION: SPECIAL PHONE #

[0031] PHONE VALIDATION: CELLULAR PHONE #

[0032] PHONE VALIDATION: TEST PHONE#

[0033] PHONE VALIDATION: CELLULAR, PAGER OR MOBILE PH#

[0034] PHONE VALIDATION: PERSONAL COMMUNICATION SERVICE

[0035] SSN/DOB: SSN AVAILABLE AT AGE VS. CURRENT AGE

[0036] SSN/DOB: SSN AVAILABLE BEFORE DATE OF BIRTH

[0037] SSN/DOB: SSN ISSUED WITHIN LAST 5 YEARS

[0038] PHONE/ZIP: PHONE NUMBER NOT IN ZIP CODE

[0039] NUMBER OF INQUIRIES IN THE LAST 30 DAYS

[0040] NUMBER OF INQUIRIES IN THE LAST 60 DAYS

[0041] NUMBER OF INQUIRIES IN THE LAST 90 DAYS

[0042] NUMBER OF INQUIRIES IN THE LAST 180 DAYS

[0043] NUMBER OF INQUIRIES IN THE LAST 1 YEAR

[0044] NUMBER OF DAYS SINCE MOST RECENT INQUIRY

[0045] NUMBER OF DAYS SINCE FIRST INQUIRY

[0046] AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS BETWEEN INQUIRIES IN THE PAST 1 YEAR

[0047] NUMBER OF INQUIRIES IN THE LAST 90 DAYS

[0048] NUMBER OF DIFFERENT MASTER BANKS POSTING INQUIRIES IN THE PAST180 DAYS

[0049] NUMBER OF CHECK PRINTING ORDERS IN THE LAST 30 DAYS

[0050] NUMBER OF CHECK PRINTING ORDERS IN THE LAST 60 DAYS

[0051] NUMBER OF CHECK PRINTING ORDERS IN THE LAST 90 DAYS

[0052] NUMBER OF CHECK PRINTING ORDERS IN THE LAST 180 DAYS

[0053] NUMBER OF CHECK PRINTING ORDERS IN THE LAST YEAR

[0054] NUMBER OF CHECK PRINTING ORDERS IN THE LAST 2 YEARS

[0055] NUMBER OF CHECK PRINTING ORDERS IN THE LAST 3 YEARS

[0056] NUMBER OF DIFFERENT CHECK PRINTING ACCOUNTS

[0057] NUMBER OF DIFFERENT BANKS ORDERING CHECKS IN THE PAST 1 YEAR

[0058] NUMBER OF DAYS SINCE MOST RECENT CHECK PRINTING ORDER

[0059] NUMBER OF DAYS SINCE FIRST CHECK PRINTING ORDER

[0060] MINIMUM NUMBER OF DAYS BETWEEN ORDERING CHECKS IN THE PAST YEAR

[0061] NUMBER OF CHECKS ORDERED IN THE LAST 30 DAYS

[0062] NUMBER OF CHECKS ORDERED IN THE LAST 60 DAYS

[0063] NUMBER OF CHECKS ORDERED IN THE LAST 90 DAYS

[0064] NUMBER OF CHECKS ORDERED IN THE LAST 180 DAYS

[0065] NUMBER OF CHECKS ORDERED IN THE LAST 1 YEAR

[0066] NUMBER OF CHECKS ORDERED IN THE LAST 2 YEARS

[0067] NUMBER OF CHECKS ORDERED IN THE LAST 3 YEARS

[0068] MINIMUM NUMBER OF CHECKS ORDERED

[0069] MAXIMUM NUMBER OF CHECKS ORDERED

[0070] AVERAGE NUMBER OF CHECKS ORDERED

[0071] NUMBER OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 30 DAYS

[0072] NUMBER OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 60 DAYS

[0073] NUMBER OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 90 DAYS

[0074] NUMBER OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 180 DAYS

[0075] NUMBER OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST YEAR

[0076] NUMBER OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 2 YEARS

[0077] NUMBER OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 3 YEARS

[0078] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS, IN THE LAST 30 DAYS

[0079] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 60 DAYS

[0080] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 90 DAYS

[0081] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS, IN THE LAST 180 DAYS

[0082] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS, IN THE LAST YEAR

[0083] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS, IN THE LAST 2 YEARS

[0084] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF OPEN RETAIL ITEMS, IN THE LAST 3 YEARS

[0085] NUMBER OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 30 DAYS

[0086] NUMBER OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 60 DAYS

[0087] NUMBER OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 90 DAYS

[0088] NUMBER OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 180 DAYS

[0089] NUMBER OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST YEAR

[0090] NUMBER OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 2 YEARS

[0091] NUMBER OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS IN THE LAST 3 YEARS

[0092] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS, IN THE LAST 30 DAYS

[0093] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS, IN THE LAST 60 DAYS

[0094] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS, IN THE LAST 90 DAYS

[0095] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS, IN THE LAST 180 DAYS

[0096] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS, IN THE LAST YEAR

[0097] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS, IN THE LAST 2 YEARS

[0098] TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS, IN THE LAST 3 YEARS

[0099] TOTAL (OPEN+PAID) NUMBER OF SCAN ITEMS IN THE PAST 1 YEAR

[0100] TOTAL (OPEN+PAID) NUMBER OF SCAN ITEMS IN THE PAST 3 YEARS

[0101] DAYS SINCE MOST RECENT OPEN RETAIL ITEM

[0102] DAYS SINCE MOST RECENT PAID RETAIL ITEM

[0103] MAXIMUM DOLLAR AMOUNT OF OPEN RTAIL ITEMS

[0104] MAXIMUM DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PAID RETAIL ITEMS

[0105] MINIMUM CHECK NUMBER ON OPEN RETAIL ITEMS

[0106] MINIMUM CHECK NUMBER ON PAID RETAIL ITEMS

[0107] MINIMUM DAYS TO PAY AN OPEN RETAIL ITEM

[0108] MAXIMUM DAYS TO PAY AN OPEN RETAIL ITEM

[0109] EPISODE SPAN OF ALL OPEN AND AID RETAIL ITEMS

[0110] CLOSURE FLAG: ZERO OR ONE CLOSURE IN THE LAST 30 DAYS

[0111] CLOSURE FLAG: ZERO OR ONE CLOSURE IN THE LAST 60 DAYS

[0112] CLOSURE FLAG: ZERO OR ONE CLOSURE IN THE LAST 180 DAYS

[0113] CLOSURE FLAG: ZERO OR ONE CLOSURE IN THE LAST YEAR

[0114] CLOSURE FLAG: ZERO OR ONE CLOSURE IN THE LAST 2 YEARS

[0115] CLOSURE FLAG: ZERO OR ONE CLOSURE IN THE LAST 3 YEARS

[0116] CLOSURE FLAG: ZERO OR ONE CLOSURE IN THE LAST 5 YEARS

[0117] FRAUD CLOSURE FLAG

[0118] DAYS SINCE MOST RECENT CLOSURE

[0119] DAYS SINCE FIRST CLOSURE

[0120] AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS BETWEEN CLOSURES

[0121] PRESENCE OF ONE OR MORE OPEN RETAIL ITEMS OVER THE PAST 3 YEARS

[0122] TOTAL NUMBER OF INQUIRIES IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS

[0123] PRESENCE OF ONE OR TWO CHECK ORDERS FROM DIFFERENT FINANCIALINSTITUTIONS IN THE LAST YEAR

[0124] PRESENCE OF ONE RETAIL ITEM IN THE PAST 3 YEARS

[0125] PRESENCE OF TWO OR THREE RETAIL ITEMS IN THE PAST 3 YEARS

[0126] PRESENCE OF FOUR OR MORE RETAIL ITEMS IN THE PAST 3 YEARS

[0127] PRESENCE OF ONE CLOSURE IN THE PAST 6 MONTHS

[0128] PRESENCE OF ONE CLOSURE, 6 MONTHS TO 5 YEARS AGO

[0129] TOTAL NUMBER OF INQUIRIES FROM DIFFERENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSIN THE LAST 6 MONTHS

[0130] AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS BETWEEN INQUIRIES IS 0-90 DAYS

[0131] AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS BETWEEN INQUIRIES IS GREATER THAN 90 DAYS

[0132] TOTAL NUMBER OF CHECK ORDERS IN THE LAST 90 DAYS,

[0133] MINIMUM NUMBER OF DAYS BETWEEN CHECK ORDERS IS 180 DAYS OR MORE

[0134] PRESENCE OF A RETAIL ITEM WITHIN THE LAST YEAR

[0135] PRESENCE OF ONE CLOSURES IN THE PAST 5 YEARS

[0136] NO RETAIL ITEMS IN THE PAST 3 YEARS

[0137] The financial institution also provides a list of credit policyexclusions and credit review guidelines. The exclusions and guidelinesmay be chosen by the financial institution from the list below in anynumber and in any combination.

[0138] TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES

[0139] TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES PRESENTLY CURRENT REPORTED WITHIN 6 MONTHSOF PROFILE DATE

[0140] TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES EVER 30 OR MORE DAYS DELINQUENT ORDEROGATORY

[0141] TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES EVER 60 OR MORE DAYS DELINQUENT ORDEROGATORY

[0142] WORST STATUS EVER ON TRADES OPENED WITHIN 36 MONTHS OF PROFILEDATE

[0143] WORST PRESENT STATUS ON OPEN TRADES OPENED WITHIN 24 MONTHS OFPROFILE DATE

[0144] AVERAGE AGE, IN MONTHS, OF ALL TRADES

[0145] MONTHS SINCE MOST RECENT SATISFACTORY STATUS ON ANY TRADE OPENEDMORE THAN 6 MONTHS

[0146] MONTHS SINCE MOST RECENT 90 OR MORE DAYS DELINQUENCY ORDEROGATORY ITEM ON ANY TRADE

[0147] TOTAL NUMBER OF INQUIRIES FOR CREDIT PURPOSES MADE WITHIN 12MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0148] PERCENT OF PROFILE CONSISTING OF TRADES 30 OR MORE DAYSDELINQUENT OR DEROGATORY

[0149] PERCENT OF PROFILE CONSISTING OF TRADES 60 OR MORE DAYSDELINQUENT OR DEROGATORY

[0150] TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN, PAID, OR CLOSED BANKCARD TRADES

[0151] TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN, PAID, CLOSED, OR INACTIVE BANKCARD TRADES

[0152] TOTAL NUMBER OF BANKCARD TRADES NEVER REPORTED DELINQUENT ORDEROGATORY

[0153] AVERAGE AGE, IN MONTHS, OF ALL BANKCARD TRADES

[0154] PERCENT OF PROFILE CONSISTING OF BANKCARD TRADES NEVER REPORTEDDELINQUENT OR DEROGATORY

[0155] TOTAL NUMBER OF FINANCE INSTALLMENT TRADES OPENED WITHIN 12MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0156] TOTAL NUMBER OF INSTALLMENT TRADES OPENED WITHIN 12 MONTHS OFPROFILE DATE

[0157] TOTAL NUMBER OF INSTALLMENT TRADES PRESENTLY 30 OR MORE DAYSDELINQUENT OR DEROGATORY

[0158] TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN, PAID, CLOSED, OR INACTIVE REVOLVING TRADES

[0159] TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN REVOLVING TRADES

[0160] WORST STATUS EVER ON REVOLVING TRADES OPENED WITHIN 36 MONTHS OFPROFILE DATE

[0161] WORST PRESENT STATUS ON OPEN REVOLVING TRADE

[0162] OVERALL BALANCE/LIMIT RATIO ON ALL OPEN RETAIL REVOLVING TRADESOPENED WITHIN 12 MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0163] APPLICANT AGE CALCULATED AT BUREAU

[0164] TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN/CLOSED TRADES WITH DELINQUENT BALANCES ORAMOUNTS PAST DUE REPORTED WITHIN 12 MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0165] TOTAL NUMBER OF BANKRUPTCY TRADELINES EVER

[0166] TOTAL NUMBER OF DEROGATORY PUBLIC RECORDS WHERE AMOUNT IS GREATERTHAN $250

[0167] TOTAL NUMBER OF BANKRUPTCY PUBLIC RECORDS

[0168] TOTAL OUTSTANDING BALANCE ON ALL OPEN TRADES

[0169] TOTAL OF CREDIT LIMIT ON ALL OPEN TRADES

[0170] OVERALL BALANCE/LIMIT RATION ON ALL OPEN TRADES REPORTED WITHIN 6MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0171] AGE, IN MONTHS, OF OLDEST TRADE

[0172] TOTAL OUTSTANDING BALANCE ON ALL OPEN AUTO TRADES

[0173] WORST STATUS EVER ON AN AUTO TRADE

[0174] TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN BANKCARD TRADES

[0175] TOTAL OUTSTANDING BALANCE ON ALL OPEN BANKCARD TRADES

[0176] TOTAL CREDIT LIMIT ON ALL OPEN BANKCARD TRADES

[0177] OVERALL BALANCE/LIMIT RATIO ON ALL OPEN BANKCARD TRADES REPORTEDWITHIN 6 MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0178] TOTAL OUTSTANDING BALANCE ON ALL OPEN REVOLVING TRADES

[0179] TOTAL CREDIT LIMIT ON ALL OPEN REVOLVING TRADES

[0180] OVERALL BALANCE/LIMIT RATIO ON ALL OPEN REVOLVING TRADES REPORTEDWITHIN 6 MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0181] CREATE YOUR OWN CREDIT ATTRIBUTES USING BUREAU DATA

[0182] ANY SCORE AVAILABLE AT YOUR BUREAU OF CHOICE, FOR EXAMPLE, FICOSCORE, MDS BANKRUPTCY SCORE, BEACON SCORE, ETC.

[0183] TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES

[0184] TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES PRESENTLY CURRENT REPORTED WITHIN 6 MONTHSOF PROFILE DATE

[0185] TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES EVER 30 OR MORE DAYS DELINQUENT ORDEROGATORY

[0186] TOTAL NUMBER OF TRADES EVER 60 OR MORE DAYS DELINQUENT ORDEROGATORY

[0187] WORST STATUS EVER ON TRADES OPENED WITHIN 36 MONTHS OF PROFILEDATE

[0188] WORST PRESENT STATUS ON OPEN TRADES OPENED WITHIN 24 MONTHS OFPROFILE DATE

[0189] AVERAGE AGE, IN MONTHS, OF ALL TRADES

[0190] MONTHS SINCE MOST RECENT SATISFACTORY STATUS ON ANY TRADE OPENEDMORE THAN 6 MONTHS

[0191] MONTHS SINCE MOST RECENT 90 OR MORE DAYS DELINQUENCY ORDEROGATORY ITEM ON ANY TRADE

[0192] TOTAL NUMBER OF INQUIRIES FOR CREDIT PURPOSES MADE WITHIN 12MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0193] PERCENT OF PROFILE CONSISTING OF TRADES 30 OR MORE DAYSDELINQUENT OR DEROGATORY

[0194] PERCENT OF PROFILE CONSISTING OF TRADES 60 OR MORE DAYSDELINQUENT OR DEROGATORY

[0195] TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN, PAID, OR CLOSED BANKCARD TRADES

[0196] TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN, PAID, CLOSED, OR INACTIVE BANKCARD TRADES

[0197] TOTAL NUMBER OF BANKCARD TRADES NEVER REPORTED DELINQUENT ORDEROGATORY

[0198] AVERAGE AGE, IN MONTHS, OF ALL BANKCARD TRADES

[0199] PERCENT OF PROFILE CONSISTING OF BANKCARD TRADES NEVER REPORTEDDELINQUENT OR DEROGATORY

[0200] TOTAL NUMBER OF FINANCE INSTALLMENT TRADES OPENED WITHIN 12MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0201] TOTAL NUMBER OF INSTALLMENT TRADES OPENED WITHIN 12 MONTHS OFPROFILE DATE

[0202] TOTAL NUMBER OF INSTALLMENT TRADES PRESENTLY 30 OR MORE DAYDELINQUENT OR DEROGATORY

[0203] TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN, PAID, CLOSED, OR INACTIVE REVOLVING TRADES

[0204] TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN REVOLVING TRADES

[0205] WORST STATUS EVER ON REVOLVING TRAES OPENED WITHIN 36 MONTHS OFPROFILE DATE

[0206] WORST PRESENT STATUS ON OPEN REVOLVING TRADE

[0207] OVERALL BALANCE/LIMIT RATIO ON ALL OPEN RETAIL REVOLVING TRADESOPENED WITHIN 12 MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0208] APPLICANT AGE CALCULATED AT BUREAU

[0209] TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN/CLOSED TRADES WITH DELINQUENT BALANCES ORAMOUNTS PAST DUE REPORTED WITHIN 12 MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0210] TOTAL NUMBER OF BANKRUPTCY TRADELINES EVER

[0211] TOTAL NUMBER OF DEROGATORY PUBLIC RECORDS WHERE AMOUNT IS GREATERTHAN $250

[0212] TOTAL NUMBER OF BANKRUPTCY PUBLIC RECORDS

[0213] TOTAL OUTSTANDING BALANCE ON ALL OPEN TRADES

[0214] TOTAL OF CREDIT LIMIT ON ALL OPEN TRADES

[0215] OVERALL BALANCE/LIMIT RATIO ON ALL OPEN TRADES REPORTED WITHIN 6MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0216] AGE, IN MONTHS, OF OLDEST TRADE

[0217] TOTAL OUTSTANDING BALANCE ON ALL OPEN AUTO TRADES

[0218] WORST STATUS EVER ON AN AUTO TRADE

[0219] TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN BANKCARD TRADES

[0220] TOTAL OUTSTANDING BALANCE ON ALL OPEN BANKCARD TRADES

[0221] TOTAL CREDIT LIMIT ON ALL OPEN BANKCARD TRADES

[0222] OVERALL BALANCE/LIMIT RATIO ON ALL OPEN BANKCARD TRADES REPORTEDWITHIN 6 MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0223] TOTAL OUTSTANDING BALANCE ON ALL OPEN REVOLVING TRADES

[0224] TOTAL CREDIT LIMIT ON ALL OPEN REVOLVING TRADES

[0225] OVERALL BALANCE/LIMIT RATIO ON ALL OPEN REVOLVING TRADES REPORTEDWITHIN 6 MONTHS OF PROFILE DATE

[0226] CREATE YOUR OWN CREDIT ATTRIBUTES USING BUREAU DATA

[0227] ANY SCORE AVAILABLE AT YOUR BUREAU OF CHOICE, FOR EXAMPLE, FICOSCORE, MDS BANKRUPTCY SCORE, BEACON SCORE, ETC.

[0228] Additionally, if the financial institution 48 is interested incross-selling products and services to a financial account applicant,the financial institution 48 also provides a list of such products andservices, as well as a list of guidelines for evaluating whichapplicants are provided the opportunity to participate in those productsand services. The security code, policy rules, evaluation guidelines,credit policy exclusions, credit review guidelines, and cross-sellingproducts and services are all stored in the customer set up module 26.

[0229] When the financial institution 48 has an applicant that it wishesthe network 10 to evaluate, the financial institution 48 logs on to thenetwork 10 and enters its security code, along with the applicant's lastname, first name, social security number, and place of residence for thelast five years. The gateway server 14 immediately contacts thepreliminary search database 18 which searches for information relatingto financial accounts that have been closed “for cause” or forinformation indicating that a large number of applications have beensubmitted by applicant over a given period of time. The preliminarydatabase search is used to quickly,eliminate high-risk applicants. Ifthe preliminary database search returns a “hit” relevant to theapplicant, then the evaluation process is immediately terminated. Ifthere are no “hits,” the gateway server 14 passes the applicantinformation to the application server 22 which begins to electronicallypoll the modules in an attempt to amass the financial accountinformation, demographic information, and credit bureau information thatis necessary to perform the automatic evaluation of the applicant.

[0230] The application server 22 receives the applicant information fromthe gateway server 14, conducts a consumer search to search for links todata collections for the applicant, searches the operational data storemodule, searches for demographic data, and credit bureau data andtransmits all of the data to the scoring model module 44 where the scoreor series of scores are generated. All of the data searches may beconducted using either exact matching logic or fuzzy logic, or both.

[0231] The risk model consists of three “scorecards.” The scorecards arebased on the availability of information. Scorecard 1 is for thoseinquiries in which only credit information is available. Similarly,scorecard 2 is for inquiries in which only debit bureau information isavailable. Scorecard 3 is for inquiries in which both credit and debitbureau information is present. The following table outlines the data(along with corresponding variable names) required to create thesegmentation logic necessary for developing the “scorecards.” FIELD NAMELABEL IV1 IV: # OF INQS LAST 0-1 IV365 IV: # OF INQS LAST 2-365 CPCOR365CP: # OF CHECK ORDERS LAST 365 DAYS CPDOR365 CP: # OF DEPOSIT ORDERSLAST 365 DAYS CPOOR365 CP: # OF OTHER ORDERS LAST 365 DAYS SCAN999 # ALLLAST 3 YEARS CVD0001S CV: # OF HISTORIC CLOSURES PREVIOUS DAY CVD0007SCV: # OF HISTORIC CLOSURES 2-7 DAYS CVD0014S CV: # OF HISTORIC CLOSURES8-14 DAYS CVD0030S CV: # OF HISTORIC CLOSURES 15-30 DAYS CVD0060S CV: #OF HISTORIC CLOSURES 31-60 DAYS CVD0090S CV: # OF HISTORIC CLOSURES61-90 DAYS CVD0180S CV: # OF HISTORIC CLOSURES 91-180 DAYS CVD0365S CV:# OF HISTORIC CLOSURES 181-365 DAYS CVD0730S CV: # OF HISTORIC CLOSURES366-730 DAYS CVD1095S CV: # OF HISTORIC CLOSURES 731-1095 DAYS CVD1460SCV: # OF HISTORIC CLOSURES 1096-1460 DAYS CVD1825S CV: # OF HISTORICCLOSURES 1461-1825 DAYS GBL007 CREDIT: DECEASED FLAG ALL001 CREDIT:TOTAL NUMBER OF OPEN, PAID, OR CLOSED TRADES

[0232] In order to implement the segmentation logic, the followingintermediate variables are created. VARIABLE: SUMCLS DESCRIPTION:Presence of closure in the last 1825 days LOGIC: IF (CVD0001S > 0 ORCVD0007S > 0 OR CVD0014S > 0 OR CVD0030S > 0 OR CVD0060S > 0 ORCVD0090S > 0 OR CVD0180S > 0 OR CVD0365S > 0 OR CVD0730S > 0 ORCVD1095S > 0 OR CVD1460S > 0 OR CVD1825S > 0) THEN SUMCLS = 1 ELSESUMCLS = 0 VARIABLE: SUMSCAN DESCRIPTION: Presence of scan activity inthe last 3 years LOGIC: IF SCAN999 > 0 THEN SUMSCAN = 1 ELSE SUMSCAN = 0VARIABLE: DEBIT001 DESCRIPTION: Presence of Debit Bureau informationLOGIC: IF (SUMCLS > 0 OR SUMSCAN > 0 OR IV1 > 0 OR IV365 > 0 ORCPCOR365 > 0 OR CPDOR365 > 0 OR CPOOR365 > 0) THEN DEBIT001 = 1 ELSEDEBIT001 = 0 VARIABLE: GBL007 DESCRIPTION: Deceased indicator SOURCE:Credit reporting bureau database VARIABLE: ALL001 DESCRIPTION: Totalnumber of open, paid, or closed trades

[0233] Once the intermediate variables have been computed, thesegmentation logic is created as follows:

[0234] IF GBL007=1 THEN SEGMENT=−1

[0235] ELSE IF ALL001=0 AND DEBIT001=0 THEN SEGMENT=0

[0236] ELSE IF ALL001>0 AND DEBIT001=0 THEN SEGMENT=1

[0237] ELSE IF ALL001=0 AND DEBIT001>0 THEN SEGMENT=2

[0238] ELSE IF ALL001>0 AND DEBIT001>0 THEN SEGMENT=3

[0239] Segment values have the following meanings:

[0240] −1=Deceased

[0241] 0=No debit or credit information

[0242] 1=Credit Bureau information only

[0243] 2=Debit Bureau information only

[0244] 3=Credit and Debit Bureau information

[0245] For scorecard 1 (credit bureau data only), the attributesrequired in the scorecard are as follows: Name Label Description ALL001TTL TRADE Total number of open, paid, or closed trades ALL078 TTLDEL-GE60 Total number of trades ever 60 or more days delinquent orderogatory ALL504 WORST-EVER-OPEN36 Worst status ever on trades openedwithin 36 months of the profile date ALL602 WORST-NOW OPEN Worst presentstatus on open OPEN24 trades opened within 24 months of the profile dateALL710 AGE-RECENT-SAT Months since most recent OPEN > 6 satisfactorystatus on any trade opened more than 6 months ALL740 AGE-RECENT-GE90Months since most recent 90 or more days delinquency or derogatory itemon any trade ALL804 TTL INQ12 Total number of inquiries for creditpurposes made within 12 months of the profile date ALL904 PERCENT 60+(OPC) Percent of profile consisting of trades 60 or more days delinquentor derogatory BAC001 TTL TRADE BNKCARD Total number of open, paid, orclosed bankcard trades BAC002 TTL TRADE-OPCI Total number of open, paid,BNKCARD closed, or inactive bankcard trades BAC071 TTL SAT BNKCARD Totalnumber of bankcard trades never reported delinquent or derogatory BAC703AVG-AGE BNKCARD Average age, in months, of all bankcard trades BAC901PERCENT NEVER DEL- Percent of profile consisting of OR-DEROG BNKCARDbankcard trades never reported delinquent or derogatory FIL022 TTLOPEN12 FINANCE Total number of finance INSTALL installment trades openedwithin 12 months of the profile date ILN064 TTL PRESENT-GE30 Totalnumber of installment INSTALL trades presently 30 or more daysdelinquent or derogatory REV002 TTL TRADE-OPCI REV Total number of open,paid, closed, or inactive revolving trades REV003 TTL TRADE OPEN REVTotal number of open revolving trades REV504 WORST-EVER-OPEN36 Worststatus ever on revolving REV trades opened within 36 months of theprofile date REV601 WORST-NOW OPEN REV Worst present status on an openrevolving trade RTR404 BTL OPEN BAL OPEN12 Overall balance/limit ratioon all RETAIL REV open retail revolving trades opened within 12 monthsof the profile date

[0246] To derive the “credit data only scorecard,” the algorithmestablishes attribute caps as follows:

[0247] BAC703=MIN(BAC703, 240);

[0248] ILN064=MIN(ILN064, 20);

[0249] RTR404=MIN(RTR404, 110);

[0250] ALL804=MIN(ALL804, 20);

[0251] FIL022=MIN(FIL022, 5).

[0252] The logical function “MIN” indicates that the lesser of the twooperators is transferred into the variable. The attributes and attributecaps are converted using the following mathematical functions:

[0253] SRBAC703=SQRT(BAC703);

[0254] ALL504B=(ALL504>1);

[0255] ALL710A=(ALL710<=12);

[0256] LNILN064=LOG(ILN064+1);

[0257] REV601A=REV601=1;

[0258] REV504F=REV504>120;

[0259] SRALL804=SQRT(ALL804);

[0260] ALL602B=ALL602>1;

[0261] ALL740B=(ALL740<=12);

[0262] LNFIL022=LOG(FIL022+1).

[0263] “SQRT” indicates the mathematical square root transformation,while “LOG” indicates the natural logarithm transformation.Additionally, the algorithm establishes or identifies false zerorelationships using the following logical statement:

[0264] IF REV504F=0 AND REV002=0 THEN REV504F=1.

[0265] The scoring algorithm then calculates the score. SCOR = +2.20169−(0.00946328 * ALL904) +(0.07616756 * SRBAC703) −(0.39115484 * ALL504B)+(0.24159381 * ALL710A) −(0.20654182 * LNILN064) +(0.19162188 * REV601A)−(0.00599192 * RTR404) −(0.04240944 * REV504F) +(0.0055761  * BAC901)−(0.19366108 * SRALL804) −(0.17019613 * ALL602B) −(0.16300223 * ALL740B)−(0.28859933 * LNFIL022).

[0266] The above algorithm outputs the variable SCOR, which is takeninto the following scaling equation.

[0267] Final Score=100+799/(1+exp(−SCOR))**4, rounded to the nearestinteger value. The table below represents the scoring algorithm for thecredit data only scorecard. SCORING VARIABLE COEFFICIENT CONSTANTCONSTANT IS TO BE   2.20169   ADDED AUTOMATICALLY TO EACH APPLICANT'SSCORE ALL904 Multiply by the coefficient −0.00946328 SRBAC703 Multiplyby the coefficient   0.07616756 ALL504B Multiply by the coefficient−0.39115484 ALL710A Multiply by the coefficient   0.24159381 LNILN064Multiply by the coefficient −0.20654182 REV601A Multiply by thecoefficient   0.19162188 RTR404 Multiply by the coefficient −0.00599192REV504F Multiply by the coefficient −0.04240944 BAC901 Multiply by thecoefficient   0.0055761  SRALL804 Multiply by the coefficient−0.19366108 ALL602B Multiply by the coefficient −0.17019613 ALL740BMultiply by the coefficient −0.16300223 LNFIL022 Multiply by thecoefficient −0.28859933

[0268] For scorecard 2 (debit bureau data only), the attributes requiredin the scorecard are as follows. Name Label Description SCON999 SC: #OPEN LAST 3 YEARS Total number of open scan items over the past threeyears CPUNABA # DIFFERENT BANKS Total number of check orders fromdifferent financial institutions IV365 IV: # OF INQS LAST 2-365 Totalnumber of inquiries 2 to 365 days ago SCAN999 SC: # ALL LAST 3 YEARSTotal number of scan items over the past three years CVT0180S CV: # OFCLOSURES AT Total number of closures 2-180 DAYS 2 to 180 days agoCVD0365S CV: # OF HISTORIC Total number of closures CLOSURES 181-365DAYS 181 to 365 days ago CVD0730S CV: # OF HISTORIC Total number ofclosures CLOSURES 366-730 DAYS 366 to 730 days ago CVD1095S CV: # OFHISTORIC Total number of closures CLOSURES 731-1095 DAYS 731 to 1095days ago CVD1460S CV: # OF HISTORIC Total number of closures CLOSURES1096-1460 1096 to 1460 days ago DAYS CVD1825S CV: # OF HISTORIC Totalnumber of closures CLOSURES 1461-1825 1461 to 1825 days ago DAYS IVFI180IV: # OF INQS DIFF FI Total number of inquiries LAST 2-180 fromdifferent financial institutions 2 to 180 days ago IVDBTWN IV: AVG. DAYSBETWEEN Average number of days INQUIRIES between inquiries CPCORD90 CP:# OF CHECK ORDERS Total number of check LAST 90 DAYS orders in the last90 days CPMNBETW CP: MIN DAYS BETWEEN Minimum number of CHECK ORDERSdays between check orders SCALAST SC: DAYS SINCE LAST Number of dayssince ALL ITEMS last scan item

[0269] Again, to implement the segmentation logic, the followingvariables are created. VARIABLE: SCON999B DESCRIPTION: SCP: # ALL LAST 3YEARS ≧ 1 LOGIC: IF (SCON999 ≧ 1) THEN SCON999B = 1 ELSE SCON999B = 0VARIABLE: CPUNABAB DESCRIPTION: CP: # OF DIFFERENT BANKS 1-2 LOGIC: IF(CPUNABA ≧ 1 AND CPUNABA ≦ 2) THEN CPUNABAB = 1 ELSE CPUNABAB = 0VARIABLE: SCAN999B, SCAN999C, SCAN999D DESCRIPTION: SCA: # ALL LAST 3YEARS: 1 SCA: # ALL LAST 3 YEARS: 2-3 SCA: # ALL LAST 3 YEARS: 4+ LOGIC:SCAN999B = 0 SCAN999C = 0 SCAN999D = 0 IF SCAN999 = 1 THEN SCAN999B = 1ELSE IF (SCAN999 ≧ 2 AND SCAN999 ≦ 3) THEN SCAN999C = 1 ELSE IF (SCAN999≧ 4) THEN SCAN999D = 1 VARIABLE: CVD0365A DESCRIPTION: CLOSURE: 181-1825DAYS LOGIC: IF (CVD0365S = 1 OR CVD0730S = 1 OR CVD1095S = 1 OR CVD1460S= 1 OR CVD1825S = 1) THEN CVD0365A = 1 ELSE CVD0365A = 0 VARIABLE:IVDBTWNA, IVDBTWNB DESCRIPTION: IV: AVG. DAYS BETWEEN INQUIRIES: 0-90IV: AVG. DAYS BETWEEN INQUIRIES: 90+ LOGIC: IVDBTWNA = 0 IVDBTWNB = 0 IF(IVDBTWN ≧ 0 AND IVDBTWN ≦ 90) THEN IVDBTWNA = 1 ELSE IF (IVDBTWN ≧ 91)THEN IVDBTWNB = 1 VARIABLE: CPMNBETD DESCRIPTION: CP: MIN DAYS BETWEENCHECK ORDERS: 180+ LOGIC: IF (CPMNBETW ≧ 180) THEN CPMNBETD = 1 ELSECPMNBETD = 0 VARIABLE: SCALASTB DESCRIPTION: SCA: DAYS SINCE LAST ALLITEM: 0-356 DAYS LOGIC: IF (SCALAST ≧ 0 AND SCALAST ≦ 365) THEN SCALASTB= 1 ELSE SCALASTB = 0 VARIABLE: QCPCOR90 DESCRIPTION: CP: # CHECK ORDERSLAST 90 DAYS-SQRT LOGIC: SQRT(CPCORD90)

[0270] The table below represents the scoring algorithm for the debitdata only scorecard. SCORING VARIABLE POINTS CONSTANT CONSTANT IS TO1.5919 BE ADDED AUTOMATICALLY TO EACH APPLICANT'S SCORE 0 0 SCON999B 1OR MORE −.6233 IV365 Multiply by the coefficient −.1537 0 0 CPUNABAB 1TO 2 .6526 3 OR MORE 0 0 0 SCAN999B 1 −.5349 SCAN999C 2 TO 3 −.6632SCAN999D 4 OR MORE −.7182 CVT0180S Multiply by the coefficient −.6266CVD0365A PREVIOUS DAY TO 180 0 181 OR MORE −.4825 IVFI180 Multiply bythe coefficient −.1498 . 0 IVDBTWNA 0 TO 90 −.2234 IVDBTWNB 91 OR MORE−.1215 QCPCOR90 Multiply by the coefficient −.3047 CPMNBETD . 0 0 T0 1790 180 OR MORE .5656 . 0 0 0 SCALASTB 1 TO 365 −.2051 366 OR MORE 0

[0271] A period (‘.’) denotes a missing value for a particularattribute. The algorithm outputs the variable SCOR, which is taken intothe following scaling equation. Final Score=100+799/(1+exp(−SCOR))**4,rounded to the nearest integer value. For scorecard 3 (credit and debitbureau), the attributes required in the scorecard are as follows: NameLabel Description ALL001 TTL TRADE Total number of open, paid, or closedtrades ALL062 TTL PRESENT-SAT Total number of trades RPTED6 presentlycurrent reported within 6 months of the profile date ALL075 TTL DEL-GE30Total number of trades ever 30 or more days delinquent or derogatoryALL504 WORST-EVER-OPEN36 Worst status ever on trades opened within 36months of the profile date ALL602 WORST-NOW OPEN Worst present status onopen OPEN24 trades opened within 24 months of the profile date ALL703AVG-AGE Average age, in months, of all trades ALL710 AGE-RECENT-SATMonths since most recent OPEN > 6 satisfactory status on any tradeopened more than 6 months ALL903 PERCENT 30+ (OPC) Percent of profileconsisting of trades 30 or more days delinquent or derogatory ILN022 TTLOPEN12 INSTALL Total number of installment trades opened within 12months of the profile date ILN064 TTL PRESENT-GE30 Total number ofinstallment INSTALL trades presently 30 or more days delinquent orderogatory REV002 TTL TRADE-OPCI REV Total number of open, paid, closed,or inactive revolving trades REV504 WORST-EVER-OPEN36 Worst status everon revolving REV trades opened within 36 months of the profile dateCVT1825S CV: # OF HISTORIC Total number of closures 2 to CLOSURES 2-1825DAYS 1825 days ago IV365 IV: # OF INQS LAST Total number of inquiries 2to 2-365 365 days ago SCAN999 # ALL LAST 3 YEARS Total number of scanitems over the past three years SCON999 # OPEN LAST 3 YEARS Total numberof open scan items over the past three years

[0272] To derive the credit and debit combined scorecard, the algorithmestablishes the attributes as follows:

[0273] ALL703=MIN(ALL703,240);

[0274] ILN064=MIN(ILN064,25);

[0275] IV365=MIN(IV365,10);

[0276] ALL062=MIN(ALL062, 25);

[0277] ILN022=MIN(ILN022, 10).

[0278] The attributes and attribute caps are converted using thefollowing mathematical functions:

[0279] LNALL703=LOG(ALL703+1);

[0280] SCAN999A=SCAN999=0;

[0281] SRALL903=SQRT(ALL903);

[0282] LNILN064=LOG(ILN064+1);

[0283] SRIV365=SQRT(IV365);

[0284] ALL504D=ALL504>60;

[0285] ALL710B=(ALL710<=24);

[0286] SCON999A=(SCON999=0);

[0287] REV504F=REV504>120;

[0288] ALL602B=ALL602>1.

[0289] Additionally, the algorithm establishes or identifies false zerorelationships using the following algorithm:

[0290] IF REV504F=0 AND REV002=0 THEN REV504F=1.

[0291] The scoring algorithm then calculates the score. SCOR = +0.83475+(0.38888396 * LNALL703) +(0.52751826 * SCAN999A) −(0.15296523 *SRALL903) −(0.21593754 * LNILN064) −(0.28475832 * SRIV365)−(0.12155948 * ALL504D) +(0.10062759 * ALL710B) +(0.18870077 * SCON999A)−(0.25754947 * CVT1825S) +(0.04657684 * ALL062) −(0.06580746 * ILN022)−(0.12498866 * REV504F) −(0.27472889 * ALL602B).

[0292] The above algorithm outputs the variable SCOR, which is takeninto the following scaling equation.

[0293] Final Score=100+799/(1+exp(−SCOR))**4, rounded to the nearestinteger value. The table below represents the scoring algorithm for theblended scorecard. SCORING VARIABLE COEFFICIENT CONSTANT CONSTANT IS TOBE   0.83475   ADDED AUTOMATICALLY TO EACH APPLICANT'S SCORE LNALL703Multiply by the coefficient   0.38888396 SCAN999A Multiply by thecoefficient   0.52751826 SRALL903 Multiply by the coefficient−0.15296523 LNILN064 Multiply by the coefficient −0.21593754 SRIV365Multiply by the coefficient −0.28475832 ALL504D Multiply by thecoefficient −0.12155948 ALL710B Multiply by the coefficient   0.10062759SCON999A Multiply by the coefficient   0.18870077 CVT1825S Multiply bythe coefficient −0.25754947 ALL062 Multiply by the coefficient  0.04657684 ILN022 Multiply by the coefficient −0.06580746 REV504FMultiply by the coefficient −0.12498866 ALL602B Multiply by thecoefficient −0.27472889

[0294] The score or scores are sent back to the application server 22where they are compared with the policy rules and guidelines of thefinancial institution to either accept or deny the financial accountapplication.

[0295] In a preferred embodiment, a range is set for the scores so that:if the score is below the financial institution's “deny limit,” a “denyapplicant” code is returned to the financial institution; if the scoreis above the financial institution's “accept limit,” an “acceptapplicant” code is returned to the financial institution; and if thescore is between the “deny limit” and the “accept limit,” then a“review” code is returned to the financial institution. If a “review”code is generated, the financial institution may wish to examine theapplication or applicant in greater detail. If the application isaccepted, then the score or scores are compared to the financialinstitution's cross-selling guidelines to determine whether and whatproducts and services of the financial institution should be offered tothe applicant. An electronic report is sent to the financial institutionadvising the institution of the results of the evaluation.

[0296]FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the decisioning process 100 ofthe network 10 shown in FIG. 1. The information acquired by theapplication server 22 is compared 104 against the policy rules (orexclusions) 108 and financial account application evaluation guidelines(or reviews) 112. If the data indicates (by comparison at 116) that theapplicant does not comply with one of the policy rules, then a fail codeis issued 120 to the financial institution indicating that the applicantshould be denied the account and the process is terminated 122. If therules are met then the application server 22 issues a pass code 124. Atthe same time that the policy rules are being evaluated against thedata, the application server 22 is comparing 128 the data with thefinancial account application evaluation guidelines. If the data doesnot meet the guidelines, then a code is issued 132 to the financialinstitution indicating that the application should be reviewed ingreater detail. If the data meets the guidelines, then a pass code isissued 136, and (provided the pass code is issued for the policy rulesevaluation) the application server 22 proceeds 138 to evaluate thecredit bureau data against the credit policy exclusions 140 and creditreview guidelines 144 provided by the financial institution. If theapplicant's data from the credit bureau indicates (by comparison at 148)a violation of the financial institution credit policy exclusions, thenthe application server 22 issues a code 152 to the financial institutionindicating that the application should be declined and the process isterminated. Alternatively, if the credit policy exclusions are notviolated by the credit bureau data, then the application server 22continues 156 with the data evaluation process. At the same time thatthe credit policy exclusions are being compared with the credit bureaudata, the application server 22 is comparing 160 the credit reviewguidelines with the credit bureau data. If both the credit policyexclusions and credit review guidelines are satisfied by the creditbureau data, then the application server 22 proceeds 164 with theevaluation process. If the data does not meet the credit reviewguidelines, then a code is issued 168 to the financial institutionindicating that the application should be reviewed in greater detail.However, even if the credit review guidelines are not satisfied, thefinancial institution may opt to continue 172 with the evaluationprocess. Alternatively, the process is terminated 122. If both thecredit policy exclusions and credit review guidelines are satisfied, theapplication server 22 executes the scoring model (or risk modelalgorithm) 176 to generate the score or scores for the applicant. Thescore or scores is/are compared 180 against financial institutionpast/fail criteria. If the applicant fails, then the application server22 issues 184 a decline code to the financial institution againindicating that the applicant should be declined and the process isterminated 122. Alternatively, if the applicant's score passes thefinancial institution criteria, the score is reviewed 188 to determinewhether the applicant failed any policy reviews. If so, then theapplication server 22 issues 192 to the financial institution a codeindicating that the application should be reviewed in greater detail andthe process is terminated 122. If the consumer did not fail to satisfyany credit review guideline, then the application server 22 generates acode 196 indicating that the financial institution should accept theapplication and offer the product applied for (such as a demand depositaccount (DDA)) to the applicant. Additionally, the application server 22determines 200 whether the financial institution is offeringcross-selling products and, if so, which products 204. If not, theprocess terminates 122. However, if the financial institution isoffering cross-selling products, the applicant data and score or scoresare compared 208 with the financial institution pass/fail criteria forsuch products. If the data and score or scores do not meet the criteria,then the application server 22 issues a fail code 212 to the financialinstitution indicating that no cross-selling products are to be offeredto the applicant and the process terminates 122. Alternatively, if theapplicant passes the criteria, the application server 22 issues a code216 to the financial institution indicating that the product should beoffered to the applicant and that the financial institution shouldinvite the applicant to apply for that product. The process thenterminates 122.

[0297]FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 shows anetwork 310 for cross-selling and presenting offers of products andservices via an automated teller machine (“ATM”) or a point-of-purchase(“POP”) machine 350. While only one ATM 350 is shown in the drawing, thesystem is intended to be accessed by many ATMs 350. The network 314includes a gateway server 314 through which the ATMs 350 are connectedto the network. The ATMs 350 may also be connected to the gateway server314 through a financial institution 348.

[0298] An ATM 350 is provided for users to obtain money, financialinformation, and other information. The information, which may be in theform of an advertisement or promotional offer, provided to the user ofthe ATM 350 can be personalized to the needs and interests of the user,and may include, but is not limited to account information, financialand non-financial products, and financial and non-financial services.

[0299] ATMs 350 generally have a display screen, a key pad, a cardreader, a receipt printer, a cash dispenser, and a deposit slot. Thecard reader may be a conventional magnetic card swipe device, afingerprint reader, eye scanner, or similar device. The ATM 350 may alsoinclude a voice synthesis device. Each user maintains an access device,e.g., bank card, credit card, ATM card, or similar identification deviceand a personal identification number (“PIN”) or personal access number(“PAN”) for access to the ATM 350.

[0300] The network 310 also includes an application server 322 connectedto the gateway server 314 and a plurality of application modules 354,358, 362, 366, and 370, connected to the application server 322. Theapplication modules include an identification module 354, a consumerinformation database 358, a marketing module 362, a presentation module366, and a tracking module 370. All connections shown in the figuredenote two-way communication between the connected entities.

[0301] The identification module 354 operates to identify the personusing the ATM 350 based upon information entered into the ATM 350. Theconsumer information database 358 contains general biographical,personal and historical information about users, their interests andpast spending history. Typical information includes, but is not limitedto demographic data, such as age, income, marital status, and number ofchildren; promotional history data, such as previous promotionspresented to the client; and behavioral data, such as account balances,number of products and services purchased in the past, and length oftime as a client.

[0302] The marketing module 362 determines which promotional offers,messages, and/or advertisements to display to the user on the ATM 350.Each user is assigned a particular number, rule, group, segment, score,category, or class (collectively referred to as a “score”) whichidentifies particular messages, advertisements, and promotional offersthat would be appropriate to the user's needs and interests based on theinformation in the consumer information database 358. This process isreferred to as “target marketing,” by customizing information presentedto the ATM user, and provides an effective and efficient technique tosell products and services and increase customer satisfaction. The scorecan be pre-assigned and stored in memory, for example, when the accountowner applies to open the account. Alternatively, the score can bedynamically calculated (using the network 310 or other suitable means)each time the user accesses the ATM 350. More specifically, each timethe user accesses the ATM 350, the gateway server 314 prompts theapplication server 322 to electronically poll the modules to access theinformation necessary to evaluate the applicant. The scores aredeveloped for the ATM user, and the advertisement or promotional offeris then selected for that user based on the score. The advantage ofcalculating the score each time the user accesses the ATM 350 is thatupdated information is taken into account more frequently.Alternatively, the score can be recalculated only periodically, forexample once every three months, or once every twenty times the useraccesses the ATM 350. This would reduce processing required of thenetwork 310.

[0303] The presentation module 366 receives information from themarketing module 362 of the particular promotional offers, messages,and/or advertisements that are to be displayed. This module 366 formatsand personalizes these promotional offers, messages, and/oradvertisements to the user of the ATM 350. Alternatively,non-personalized messages, advertisements, and promotional offers may bedisplayed. The presentation module 366 also sends the formattedmessages, advertisements, and promotional offers to the ATM display forreview by the user. These messages, advertisements, and promotionaloffers may appear on the display at any time during the transaction orafter completion of the transaction.

[0304] The tracking module 370 tracks and stores responses to thepromotional offers, messages, and advertisements. Occasionally, thepromotional offers, messages, and advertisements may require a responsefrom the user of the ATM 350. This module 370 captures the user'sresponse, if any, and tracks all messages, advertisements, andpromotional offers that are displayed, but do not require a response.Financial institutions 348 or other institutions may access the userresponse information and displayed data information for follow-uppurposes, future marketing techniques, future display of messages,advertisements, and promotional offers, and for other analyses.

[0305] In operation, a user enters, scans, or swipes their card oridentification device and PAN, if necessary, to begin a transaction atthe ATM 350. The identification module verifies that the identificationdevice and PAN are compatible before the user begins the transaction.The transaction may include obtaining money, obtaining account balances,depositing checks to the user's accounts, etc. Simultaneous with thetransaction, the marketing module 362, based on the user'sidentification looks up or calculates the score of the user. Once thescore is known, the marketing module 362 identifies which promotionaloffers, messages, and advertisements to display to the user. Thisinformation is transmitted to the presentation module 366 to personalizethe promotional offers, messages, and advertisements. The presentationmodule 366 transmits these promotional offers, messages, andadvertisements to the display of the ATM 350 during the transaction orafter the transaction is completed. The tracking module 370 stores whichpromotional offers, messages, and advertisements are displayed and alsostores the user's responses, if necessary.

[0306] Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth inthe following claims.

1. A method of displaying an advertisement or promotional offer at anautomated teller machine for a user of the automated teller machine, themethod comprising the acts of: obtaining identification informationprovided by the user; accessing personal or historical informationrelating to the user; selecting the advertisement or promotional offerbased on the information of the user; and displaying the advertisementor promotional offer on the automated teller machine.
 2. A method as setforth in claim 1, wherein the act of obtaining the identificationinformation includes the act of reading a personal access number enteredby the user.
 3. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the act ofobtaining the identification information includes the act of readingaccount information on a card entered by the user.
 4. A method as setforth in claim 1, wherein the act of obtaining the identificationinformation includes the act of scanning a body part of the user.
 5. Amethod as set forth in claim 1, wherein the personal or historicalinformation is stored in a database.
 6. A method as set forth in claim1, wherein the personal or historical information includes behavioraldata, demographic data or promotional history data.
 7. A method as setforth in claim 1, wherein the information is segmentation data where theuser is placed in a group of users with similar personal or historicalinformation.
 8. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the act ofdisplaying the advertisement or promotional offer is performed during orafter a transaction on the automated teller machine.
 9. A method as setforth in claim 1, wherein the act of displaying the advertisement orpromotional offer includes the act of displaying multiple advertisementsor promotional offers at the same time.
 10. A method as set forth inclaim 8, wherein the act of displaying the multiple advertisements orpromotional offers includes the act of displaying multipleadvertisements or promotional offers sequentially.
 11. A method as setforth in claim 1, wherein the act of displaying the advertisement orpromotional offer requires a response from the user.
 12. A method as setforth in claim 1, and further comprising a module for storing responsesto the advertisement or promotional offer.
 13. A method as set forth inclaim 12, wherein the stored responses are available to a financialentity.
 14. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the information isa score used to compare the user against a standard.
 15. A method as setforth in claim 14, wherein the score is dynamically calculated using analgorithm.
 16. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein the score ispredetermined and retrieved from a database.
 17. A method as set forthin claim 1, wherein the information is a rule used to compare the useragainst a standard.
 18. A method of displaying an advertisement orpromotional offer at a point-of-purchase machine, the method comprisingthe acts of: obtaining identification information provided by a user;accessing a database containing user information; and displaying theadvertisement or promotional offer on the point-of-purchase machinebased on the user information.
 19. A method as set forth in claim 18,wherein the act of obtaining identification information includes the actof reading a personal access number entered by the user.
 20. The methodas set forth in claim 18, wherein the act of obtaining identificationinformation includes the act of reading account information on a cardentered by the user.
 21. A method as set forth in claim 18, wherein theinformation is stored in a database.
 22. A method as set forth in claim18, wherein the information is segmentation data where the user isplaced in a group of users with similar personal or historicalinformation.
 23. A method as set forth in claim 18, wherein the act ofdisplaying the personalized advertisement or promotional offer isperformed during or after a transaction on the point-of-purchasemachine.
 24. A method as set forth in claim 18, wherein the act ofdisplaying the personalized advertisement or promotional offer includesthe act of displaying multiple advertisements or promotional offers atthe same time.
 25. A method as set forth in claim 24, wherein the act ofdisplaying the multiple advertisements or promotional offers includesthe act of displaying multiple advertisements or promotional offerssequentially.
 26. A method as set forth in claim 18, wherein the act ofdisplaying the advertisement or promotional offer requires a responsefrom the user.
 27. A method as set forth in claim 18, and furthercomprising a module for storing responses to the advertisement orpromotional offer.
 28. A method as set forth in claim 27, wherein thestored responses are available to a financial entity.
 29. A method asset forth in claim 18, wherein the information is a score used tocompare the user against a standard.
 30. A method as set forth in claim29, wherein the score is dynamically calculated using an algorithm. 31.A method as set forth in claim 29, wherein the score is predeterminedand retrieved from a database.
 32. A method as set forth in claim 18,wherein the information is a rule used to compare the user against astandard.
 33. A system for displaying an advertisement or promotionaloffer, the system comprising: a user terminal; a database for storingpersonal and historical information of users; a marketing module forretrieving user information from the database based on the personal orhistorical information of the user, and for determining whichadvertisement or promotional offer to present based on the userinformation; and a presentation module for formatting the advertisementor promotional offer, the presentation module causing the user terminalto display the advertisement or promotional offer.
 34. A system as setforth in claim 33, wherein the user terminal is an automated tellermachine.
 35. A system as set forth in claim 33, wherein the userterminal is a point-of-purchase machine.
 36. A system as set forth inclaim 33, wherein the personal and historical information stored in theuser database includes behavioral data, demographic data or promotionalhistory data.
 37. A system as set forth in claim 33, wherein theinformation is segmentation data where the user is placed in a group, ofusers with similar personal or historical information.
 38. A system asset forth in claim 33, wherein the advertisement or promotional offercan be displayed during or after a transaction on the system.
 39. Asystem as set forth in claim 33, wherein the multiple advertisements orpromotional offers are displayed at the same time.
 40. A system as setforth in claim 39, wherein the multiple advertisements or promotionaloffers are displayed sequentially.
 41. A system as set forth in claim33, wherein the advertisement or promotional offer requires a responsefrom the user.
 42. A system as set forth in claim 33, and furthercomprising a storage module for storing responses to the advertisementor promotional offer.
 43. A system as set forth in claim 42, wherein thestored responses are available to a financial entity.
 44. A system asset forth in claim 33, wherein the information is a score used tocompare the user against a standard.
 45. A system as set forth in claim44, wherein the score is dynamically calculated using an algorithm. 46.A system as set forth in claim 44, wherein the score is predeterminedand retrieved from a database.
 47. A system as set forth in claim 33,wherein the information is a rule used to compare the user against astandard.
 48. A financial network, accessible by a user terminal havinga display capable of presenting offers and information for products andservices, the financial network comprising: a gateway server incommunication with the user terminal; and an application server incommunication with the gateway server, the application server including,an identification module capable of identifying the user, a databasecontaining category information and offers and information for productsand services presently available, a search engine for identifying theoffers and information for products and services that correspond to theuser's category information, and a presentation module for displaying atleast one of the offers and information for products and services thatcorrespond to the user's category information.
 49. A marketing network,accessible by a marketing terminal having a display capable ofpresenting personalized options to a user on the display, the marketingnetwork comprising: a gateway server in communication with the marketingterminal; and an application server in communication with the gatewayserver, the application server including, an identification modulecapable of identifying the user, a database containing user categoryinformation and at least one option, a marketing module for matching theavailable options with the user's category information, and apresentation module for personalizing the matched options and presentingto the user at least one of the matched options on the display.